Hello everyone!

We are officially reopening the office on Monday, May 18. At this time, we will be running a reduced schedule to allow for proper social distancing while meeting the needs of our patient population. Beginning on Tuesday, May 12, our administrative team will be back in the office to start rescheduling patients and making necessary adjustments to our schedule.

It is our mission to continue meeting the dental needs of our patient population in an environment that is safe for both patients and staff alike. Our office has always followed and exceeded the infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and will continue to do so with new guidelines set forth in the future.

In accordance with these guidelines, we will be taking additional precautions to ensure the safest possible environment and we ask for your continued cooperation with our new safety protocols as we begin reopening our practice.

Patient responsibilities:

• We ask that you call us to check in at 410-828-5699 upon arrival to our parking lot and wait in your vehicle to enter until we call you in for your appointment. If this is not possible we ask that you enter, verbally check in and socially distance in the waiting area.
• We ask all parents/caretakers to limit the number of people in the office and to not bring siblings or relatives into the office who don’t have appointments when possible.
• We ask all parents/caretakers and children of appropriate age to wear a mask or face covering when possible.
• If children are of appropriate age, parents are more than welcome to wait in the car during their appointment. This is encouraged for our teenage and older patients.
• If any patient or household member has been ill or presented with a fever or flu-like symptoms in the past 14 days, we ask that you notify us in a timely fashion to reschedule.

Our responsibilities:

• We will reduce our schedule to minimize the number of people and time spent in our office to best allow for social distancing.
• We are conducting COVID-19 screening for all patients, family members, and staff entering the office including touchless temperature reading.
• Hand sanitizer will be readily available throughout the office.
• Touchless entry in and out of the office as front doors will be propped open. Elevator touch points will be sanitized throughout the day.
• All staff will wear masks throughout the day.
• Clinical staff members will be wearing increased PPE including N95 masks and face shields.
• All toys, magazines and games have been temporarily removed from the waiting room.
• Continued infection control standards that exceed guidelines (including disposable barriers covering all chairs, trays, and instruments where possible) as well as increased use of hospital grade disinfectants throughout the office.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone for their appointments again and returning back to providing you and your child(ren) the care you’ve come to expect from Kids First! If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us! We also ask for your patience in the near future as we diligently work to get everyone rescheduled.

Thank you!

Drs. Tracy and Austin Bowden and our staff at Kids First Pediatric Dentistry

410-828-5699